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Guidance

Graphs of rational functions are very distinctive, because they get closer and closer to certain values but never reach those values. This behavior is called asymptotic behavior, and we will see that rational functions can have
horizontal asymptotes, vertical asymptotes
or
oblique (or slant) asymptotes.

Now we’ll extend the domain and range of rational equations to include negative values of
and
. First we’ll plot a few rational functions by using a table of values, and then we’ll talk about the distinguishing characteristics of rational functions that can help us make better graphs.

As we graph rational functions, we need to always pay attention to values of
that will cause us to divide by 0. Remember that dividing by 0 doesn’t give us an actual number as a result.

Example A

Graph the function
.

Solution

Before we make a table of values, we should notice that the function is not defined for
. This means that the graph of the function won’t have a value at that point. Since the value of
is special, we should make sure to pick enough values close to
in order to get a good idea how the graph behaves.

Let’s make two tables: one for
values smaller than zero and one for
values larger than zero.

0.1

-4

0.2

-3

0.3

-2

0.4

-1

0.5

-0.5

1

-0.4

2

-0.3

3

-0.2

4

-0.1

5

We can see that as we pick positive values of
closer and closer to zero,
gets larger, and as we pick negative values of
closer and closer to zero,
gets smaller (or more and more negative).

Notice on the graph that for values of
near 0, the points on the graph get closer and closer to the vertical line
. The line
is called a
vertical asymptote
of the function
.

We also notice that as the absolute values of
get larger in the positive direction or in the negative direction, the value of
gets closer and closer to
but will never gain that value. Since
, we can see that there are no values of
that will give us the value
. The horizontal line
is called a
horizontal asymptote
of the function

Asymptotes are usually denoted as dashed lines on a graph. They are not part of the function; instead, they show values that the function approaches, but never gets to. A horizontal asymptote shows the value of
that the function approaches (but never reaches) as the absolute value of
gets larger and larger. A vertical asymptote shows that the absolute value of
gets larger and larger as
gets closer to a certain value which it can never actually reach.

Now we’ll show the graph of a rational function that has a vertical asymptote at a non-zero value of
.

Example B

Graph the function
.

Solution

We can see that the function is not defined for
, because that would make the denominator of the fraction equal zero. This tells us that there should be a vertical asymptote at
, so we can start graphing the function by drawing the vertical asymptote.

Now let’s make a table of values.

0

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

4

Here’s the resulting graph:

Notice that we didn’t pick as many values for our table this time, because by now we have a pretty good idea what happens near the vertical asymptote.

We also know that for large values of
, the value of
could approach a constant value. In this case that value is
: this is the horizontal asymptote.

A rational function doesn’t have to have a vertical or horizontal asymptote. The next example shows a rational function with no vertical asymptotes.

Example C

Graph the function
.

Solution

We can see that this function will have no vertical asymptotes because the denominator of the fraction will never be zero. Let’s make a table of values to see if the value of
approaches a particular value for large values of
, both positive and negative.

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

Below is the graph of this function.

The function has no vertical asymptote. However, we can see that as the values of
get larger, the value of
gets closer and closer to 1, so the function has a horizontal asymptote at
.

Vocabulary

Graphs of rational functions are very distinctive, because they get closer and closer to certain values but never reach those values. This behavior is called asymptotic behavior, and we will see that rational functions can have
horizontal asymptotes, vertical asymptotes
or
oblique (or slant) asymptotes.

Guided Practice

Graph the function
.

Solution

Start by making a table of values:

-1

0

1

undefined

2

3

4

Next, graph the points. Recall that the function
has two curves, that are on either side of the vertical asymptote, which is where the function is undefined. The same is true for this function.

Explore More

Graph the following rational functions. Draw dashed vertical and horizontal lines on the graph to denote asymptotes.

Vocabulary

Language:

A stretch or compression is a function transformation that makes a graph narrower or wider, without translating it horizontally or vertically.

Function

Function

A function is a relation where there is only one output for every input. In other words, for every value of , there is only one value for .

Horizontal Asymptote

Horizontal Asymptote

A horizontal asymptote is a horizontal line that indicates where a function flattens out as the independent variable gets very large or very small. A function may touch or pass through a horizontal asymptote.

Oblique Asymptote

Oblique Asymptote

An oblique asymptote is a diagonal line marking a specific range of values toward which the graph of a function may approach, but generally never reach. An oblique asymptote exists when the numerator of the function is exactly one degree greater than the denominator. An oblique asymptote may be found through long division.

Polynomial Function

Polynomial Function

A polynomial function is a function defined by an expression with at least one algebraic term.

Reflection

Reflection

Reflections are transformations that result in a "mirror image" of a parent function. They are caused by differing signs between parent and child functions.

shift

shift

A shift, also known as a translation or a slide, is a transformation applied to the graph of a function that does not change the shape or orientation of the graph, only the location of the graph.

shifts

shifts

A shift, also known as a translation or a slide, is a transformation applied to the graph of a function that does not change the shape or orientation of the graph, only the location of the graph.

Slant Asymptote

Slant Asymptote

A slant asymptote is a diagonal line marking a specific range of values toward which the graph of a function may approach, but will never reach. A slant asymptote exists when the numerator of the function is exactly one degree greater than the denominator. A slant asymptote may be found through long division.

stretch

stretch

A stretch or compression is a function transformation that makes a graph narrower or wider.

Transformations

Transformations

Transformations are used to change the graph of a parent function into the graph of a more complex function.

Vertical Asymptote

Vertical Asymptote

A vertical asymptote is a vertical line marking a specific value toward which the graph of a function may approach, but will never reach.